Amazon Drops Westborough Drone Delivery Plan After Months of Pushback

Amazon has pulled its plan to launch Prime Air drone deliveries from its Westborough fulfillment center, which would have been the company’s first drone delivery site in New England. In a letter dated Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, Amazon asked the Westborough Planning Board to approve withdrawal of its site plan application “without prejudice,” which leaves the company free to file again later. The Amazon Westborough drone proposal had drawn months of opposition from residents, 15 neighboring cities and towns, state lawmakers and the state’s congressional delegation.

Key figures: Site: 64 Otis St., Westborough · 7.5-mile delivery radius covering 16 communities · packages under 5 pounds · goal of up to 1,000 deliveries a day · Town Meeting vote against drone pads: 510-13

What Amazon Proposed and What It Withdrew

Amazon planned to turn part of the parking lot at its 64 Otis St. fulfillment center into a takeoff and landing area for its MK30 delivery drones, This Week in Worcester reported. The drones would have carried packages weighing less than 5 pounds to addresses within 7.5 miles. Amazon told residents it hoped eventually to make up to 1,000 deliveries a day from the site, and the company has said items of 5 pounds or less make up 60% of customers’ most frequent purchases, Boston.com reported.

The town of Westborough lists 16 communities that would have been affected: Ashland, Berlin, Boylston, Grafton, Hopkinton, Hudson, Marlborough, Millbury, Northborough, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Sutton, Upton, West Boylston, Westborough and Worcester, according to the town’s Prime Air information page. Westborough itself has about 22,000 residents.

The site was part of a national expansion. Prime Air already operates in the Detroit, Phoenix, Houston, Baton Rouge and Tampa areas, and Amazon has said it plans to reach nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of 2026, according to Boston.com. Amazon’s withdrawal letter said the company “values its relationship with the Town of Westborough and looks forward to continuing to work with Town officials on next steps,” WBUR reported, citing the State House News Service. The letter did not say whether Amazon would refile.

By the Numbers: How the Opposition Built

The proposal moved through local review for about 10 weeks, from Amazon’s presentation to the Select Board on Aug. 18 to its withdrawal letter on Oct. 30 (TBR calculation). Opposition grew sharply in October. At a Special Town Meeting on Oct. 19, voters approved a bylaw barring commercial drone launch pads and drop zones in town by 510 to 13, meaning about 97.5% of those voting supported it (TBR calculation from the town’s reported tally). In an online survey cited by Boston.com, 93% of Westborough respondents opposed the commercial drones and 94% said they would not use the service.

The State and Federal Hurdles

Beyond the local fight, the project faced approvals Amazon did not yet have. The Federal Aviation Administration governs the airspace, and in July it adopted a nationwide environmental assessment that lets it approve new drone delivery markets without a separate review for each one. Massachusetts and 14 other states challenged that assessment in court on Sept. 28, according to the town.

At the state level, MassDOT Aeronautics Administrator Denise Garcia wrote Amazon on Oct. 22 that the company could not establish a takeoff and landing area anywhere in Massachusetts without a certificate of approval from her division, and that the division would hold at least one public hearing before deciding, as we reported when the letter was sent. The division said it had not received a request for review from Amazon. Westborough’s new bylaw still needs approval from the attorney general and MassDOT before it takes effect; the town clerk sent it to the attorney general on Oct. 22.

What It Means for Amazon in Massachusetts

The withdrawal covers only the proposed drone launch site, not the existing fulfillment center operations at Otis Street. Amazon’s ground operations in the state are growing heading into the holidays; the company said in October it would hire 6,000 seasonal workers in Massachusetts, as we reported. Before the withdrawal, the Zoning Board of Appeals had scheduled the residents’ appeal for Nov. 2, and the Planning Board had continued its hearing to Nov. 10, according to the town. More company news is on our Boston business news hub.

Reactions

“Tonight Amazon called us to share that they would be withdrawing their application to the Town of Westborough for a drone package delivery launch site,” state Sen. Michael Moore, D-Millbury, and state Reps. Hannah Kane, R-Shrewsbury, and Kate Donaghue, D-Westborough, said in a joint statement on Friday evening. “We are extremely pleased and thank Amazon for listening to the overwhelming concerns voiced in making this decision.” The lawmakers thanked the resident group Mass Blue Skies, local officials and communities that raised concerns about “noise, safety, privacy, environmental and quality of life impacts.”

Sources

• WBUR / State House News Service: Amazon drops Westborough drone delivery plan after pushback (Oct. 31, 2026)
• This Week in Worcester: Amazon withdraws Westborough drone delivery plan (Oct. 31, 2026)
• Town of Westborough: Prime Air Drone Delivery Service Application
• Boston.com: Westborough overwhelmingly votes to restrict commercial drones like Amazon’s (Oct. 20, 2026)
• Boston Business Journal: Towns push back against Amazon’s drone delivery plans (Oct. 30, 2026)